Coin chute



July 15, 1941. w. PATZER Erm.

COIN CHUTE Filed April '7, 1939 a plurality of denominations of coin,

Patented July l5, 1941 `UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE com cms wuuam ramp apa wenn A. Tratsch, Chicago, Ill.

Application April 7, 1939, serial Np. 266,53?.r

(c1. isi-10o) 3 Claims.

'I'his invention relates to coin testing devices and has as its principal object the provision of a gravity type chute which is capable of testing particularly nickels, dimes and quarters.

Viewed from another aspect, it is an object of the invention to provide a coin chute includirig a runway and means for maintaining a magnetic' field across a, particular part of the runway, together with selective deilecting and rebound means positioned below the end of the runway in a certain manner so that the various denominations of coin will follow certain trajectories and will be directed into a common acceptance 178858.86.

Other objects, advantages and economies peculiar to theinvention reside in certain detalls- The illustrative embodiment of the improved chute includes a main plate member I having opposite vertical edge portions struck up to provide side flanges II and having portions along the top edge turned in to provide mounting vears I2 through which is extended a pintle I3 constituting a mounting means for a side opening or swinging discharge gate Il. Upper edge portions of the gate are oiset to provide a widened scoop or funnel portion I5 cooperating with an opposite wall portion of the main plate to define an enlarged entrance opening I6 for the several denominations of.coin, other portions I1 and I3 along the upper edge ofthe gate being oiiset to provide mounting lugs engaged with the pintle I3 for suspension o! the gate.

The gatetends to gravitate into a lowered position in spaced relation with the opposite surface of the mounting plate lli to denne the main coin confining passage leading downwardly from the entrance It. A stationary side plate IS is mounted in spaced relation to the main plate Il near the lower edge of the gate I 4 to define the remainder of the coin conning passage. An oil'setplate 2li is secured along its lower edge portions 2l, as by welding or the like, to denne a reject chute with a discharge passage 22 at its lower end with its entrance extending all along the open upper edge portions 23 thereof. An upper portion of the stationary sideforming plate I3 is oiiset to provide a discharge apron 24 adapted to direct discharged coin elements into the chute 23. A stationary ledge member 25 (Fig. 3) deiines a short runway extending downwardly immediately below the coin entrance I6 so that its lower end 26 terminates almost halfway across the width of the chute passage and considerably above the bottom edge of the gate. v

Testing means in the form of a permanent horseshoe magnet 3l (Figs. 2 and 3) is mounted on the outside of plate III by brackets 3|, the` pole pieces 32 and 33 of the magnet projecting through suitable openings in the plate I0 so as to lie nearly iiush with the inner surface of the said main plate with the pole piece 32 lying close to the end 23 of the runway, and the remaining pole piece 33 spaced a short distance in a direction downwardly of the end 26 of ther runway.

This magnet is substantially ofthe size shown and is preferablyV of the cobalt steel type adapted to retain its magnetism for a long period with substantially little diminution of they strength of its eld. Intended for cooperation with the magn et 33 is a keeper in the form of a at piece of steel 35 of high permeability secured in an y openingA in the-gate by means of a non-magnetic strap 38 in a position opposite the pole pieces so that the magnetic iield is concentratedinthe region of the end 28 of the runway and, moreover, the life of the magnetis appreciably inthe pole pieces.

creased because of the effectiveness of the keeper,

both with respect to its shape and proximity to The keeper serves a further usetoward the magnet when the gate is opened and tends to restore the gate position.

Since magnetically attractable coin elements are frequently arrested by the magnet, a. mere opening of the gate will not effect dislodgement of such elements, and there is therefore provided a scavenging means in the form of a sweep arm 31 pivoted on the inside of the mainplate I Il as at 33 for movement downwardly across lthe pole pieces to dislodge arrested coin elements. The sweep has an offset arm 39 which servesto block other coin elements from attraction toward the magnet during or after dislodgement 'of an arrested element by the sweep arm 31; the spring I2 normally raises the sweep out of obstructing quickly to its normal position in the coin passage. Mechanism for operating the sweep includes a lever 4i pivoted as at 42 on the outside of the chute and having an o'set arm portion 43 which projects through a slot 44 in the main' plate for engagement with a roller 45 on the gate to shift the latter to open position when the lever 4I is depressed. A laterally projecting roller 46 is also provided on the operating lever and projects through the opening 44 to engage a slanted cam edge 41 formed on the sweep arm so that when the operating lever is depressed the sweep willbe pushed downwardly to dislodge an arrested coin and the gate i4 will be opened simultaneously to provide an exit for said coin, the coin dropping into the reject chute 20. v

The construction and arrangement of parts just desc-ribed, particularly the enlarged opening Il and the combination keeper and gate restoring means 35, as well as the sweep 31 and operating means 4|.-43-45-46-41 which is arranged to eilect simultaneous operation of the sweep and gate, all `constitute improvements particularly described and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 266,582, on which Patent No. 2,226,873 has issued, a variation of the enlarged entrance means I5 being described and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 250,679.

The particular improvements of the present invention relate especially to the arrangementof the runway 25 with respect to the magnet poles 52-53 and other testing and selecting means now to be described.

Thelower ed'ge portion of the chute plate is open or unobstructed but is divided into two adjacent passage zones by a segregating member 5l having an inclined upper edge portion 5l which terminates at its upper inclined end in a coin engaging point: 52. The member 5l is spaced between the opposite vertical edge portions Il of the chute to deilne an acceptance passage 53 and a reject passage 54. A rebound anvil 55 such as described and claimed in our copending application, Serial No. 212,891 on which Patent No. 2,159,117 has issued, is positioned in spaced relation to the separating means 5l in the direction of descent of coin elements on` the runway-25, the arrangement being such that certain coins, namely legitimate five-cent pieces (U. S. coin) will follow substantially the trajectory in.. dicated at A in Fig. 3, this coin overreaching the end 25 of the runway and descending more or less directly against the angled contact face Il of the anvil to rebound and jump over the reject opening 54 and the selective segregator 5l into the acceptance passage 53. Certain other spurious coin elements or tokens will move more or less directly into the reject opening 54 either due tothe angle of departure from the end of the runway 26 or failure to rebound adequately from the anvil 55, or due to improper engagement with certain other testing means hereinafter described. It may be remarked, however, that some coin elements rebounding from the anvil may strike the point 52 of the sesresator at a certain angle and be deflected back into the opening 54 or it the coin be of an acceptable nature (e. g. a worn coin), it may engage the point 52 and/ortho inclined edge 5| ina manner to bevdetiected into the acceptance opening 53.

Certain coin elements are ,prevented from dropping directly oi! the. end 25 of the runway toward the acceptance opening by an adjustable denector 5I which is mounted on the outside ten and twenty-live cent pieces, includes an adjustable deiiector 65 mo ted on the outside of the mam plate In is deflector 60, the de 65 having an oilset coin engaging part 65 which projects through a slot 66 in plate I Il across the passage in the region below the deflector a and at a point substantially above the center of the reject passage 54, the deector portion a being beveled as at 65h so as to provide a slanted edge directedv downwardly toward the acceptance opening 53.

The arrangement of the magnet with respect to the end 26 of the runway is such that ten and twenty-ve cent pieces will respectively and substantially follow the trajectories B and C and engage the detlecting portions 65a of the second adjustable deilector substantially in the manner illustrated in Fig. 3 so that they will be deflected more or less directly into the acceptance passage 55, the segregating means 58-'5i 52 acting to direct legitimate coin elements into the acceptance passage where such elements deviate slightly from the normal trajectory, as in the case ot worn coins, substantially in the manner described following the movement of theilvecent piece through the chute.

It will thus be apparent that the invention provides a simple testing means of the gravity type which is capable of selectively accepting legitimate live, ten and twenty-live cent pieces and directing movement of the same into a common acceptance opening, and rejecting spurious and other unacceptable coin elements into a. common reject passage. The advantages ot such an arrangement are for the most part obvious and relate particularly to the compactness, simplicity and eil'ectiveness of a device made in accordance with the present disclosure, these advantages nowing particularly from the aforesaid arrangement of the runway 25-25, the magnet Il and the deilecting and testing means 55-55-5la- 55a substantially as set forth.

The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized in other forms o! construction, arrangements and modes of operation ot the parts specincally described for purposes of illustration, and the invention is not to be limited to such specinc details except as may be provided in the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patt is: 1. In a coin chute, means providingya descending runway, means for maintaining a constant magnetic neld across the lower end portion of said runwa means denning adjacent acceptance and ect openings in the region below end of the runway and spaced apart in the direction of movementv ot coins down said runway, rebound testing means arranged at one side of oneofsaid opdlings. constituting the reject opening andremote from the other said opening in the direction of movementoi' coins away from said end of the runway, and deiiecting means arranged in the region below said end of the runway out of the path of legitimate U. S. fivecent coins and above said acceptance and reject openings and rebound testing means for engagement by legitimate U. S. ten and twenty-five cent pieces in a manner to be deflected into said acceptance opening, the arrangement being such that legitimate U. S. five-cent pieces pass over said defiecting means and are deflected by said rebound testing means over said reject opening into said acceptance opening.

2. In a device of the class described, me providing a coin passage having an acceptance y passage and a reject passage in its lower region,

said pes opening vertically into the coin passage, means providing a descending runway above the opening into said acceptance passage, means providing a rebound anvil adjacent said reject passage and at a side thereof remote from said acceptance passage in the direction of movement of coin elements off the lower end of said runway, deilecting means arranged in said main passage in a predetermined position beneath the lower end of the runway and above the openings into the acceptance and reject passages, and means for providing a magnetic field-across the lower end region of said runway for selectivelyk influencing the departure of a legitimate U. S. ve-cent coin piece from said end of the runway for movement above said deilecting means onto said anvil to rebound from the latter over the opening into the reject passage and into said acceptance passage, the arrangement of said magnetic field with respect tothe runway and deilecting means further being auch that legitimate U. 8. ten and twenty-iive cent coin pieces will departrfrom the lower end of the runway so as to strike saiddeecting means with their respective centers of gravity disposed relative to said deflecting means to cause said coin pieces to be deflected linto said acceptance passage.

3. In a device of the class described, means defining a descending coin e having a coin entrance in its upper region and open in its bottom region, an impact type of coin segregator arranged at said open bottom region to divide the latter into two passage sones one of which constitutes an acceptance opening and the other of which constitutes a reject opening, a downwardly inclined runway having an upper portion situated below said coin entrance and a lower end terminating in said passage in vertically spaced relation substantially above said segregator, said runway and said acceptance and reject passages all being disposed'within a plane such that the -acceptance opening lies beneath the runway and the reject opening is spaced away. from the acceptance opening in a direction away from said lower end of the runway, a rebound lanvilpositioned at the far side of said reject opening from said acceptance opening, means for maintaining a magnetic field across the lower end region of said runway, the arrangement being such that legitimate U. S. ilve-cent pieces will roll oli said runway through said field and along a trajectory to strike Asaid anvil to rebound from the latter over said reject opening and past said segregator into said acceptance opening, a dime and quarter deilector situated in said passage downwardly out of said trajectory above said reject opening in the region above said reject opening and spaced mate U. S. ten and twenty-nve cent pieces to be deiiected toward and into said acceptance opening, said magnetic neld being arranged with respect to said lower end of the runway so as to cause legitimate ten and twenty-iive cent pieces to follow the aforesaid certain corresponding trajectories. and deilecting means situated in said passage in the region below said lower end of the runway but above said dime and quarter defiector and at a side thereof toward said acceptance opening and runway.

, WIILIAM PATZER..

WALTER A. TRATSCH. 

